Thursday, November 27, 2008

Celebration over my leave period

Wow... How time flies. More than a week has passed since Gladys came back to Singapore and I'm back at work already! Of course, we did lots of things throughout the few days of holidays that we had. She reached back Singapore on 19th Nov night, and I took leave from 20th to 26th Nov to accompany her.

On the 20th, we went to Singapore Flyer! And we had dinner at an Italian restaurant. The view on Singapore Flyer was quite nice at night. Although I had been on the Flyer before with colleagues from DBS, it's still nice and different when I'm on the Singapore Flyer with Gladys.

First, we had an exchange of Christmas presents. Early exchange, cos both of us couldn't wait to get our hands on the gifts. Haha. Her pendant, and my iPod Touch:




Our food!





This is what happens when you play with your food too much.

We actually took a video where Gladys played with the food, but I'll have to edit it before putting it up here.

And finally, the Singapore Flyer! I didn't have the good camera with me the last time, and couldn't take good photos. Finally this time I had my good old Fujifilm S6500fd and was able to take some nice photos.








And then it was off to Batam for us! Spent a few days there just rotting. There was really nothing much to do there. Just there to forget everything and relax. I shall upload the photos after Gladys passes them to me.

Before we knew it, we were back to work. Phew...

Friday, November 14, 2008

It's here!

Santa Gladys has David Good Boy (DGB) on her Nice List this year, and since DGB had a bad day today, Santa Gladys decided to show him his Xmas present to cheer him up! (-^_^-)v


It's from Sydney Apple Store!


What's in the bag???


TADA!!!


Can these count as 3 presents?


It's the 16GB iPod Touch 2G! And it's MORE FUN than the funnest iPod ever, cos it's DGB's iPod. =P


Front view... You can see me + camera in the reflection. Lol.


Super-slim side view!


The back of the packaging.

Yesterday, I was cracking my head over which is the best case to get for DGB. So I went down to Apple Store today and spent about 2 hours trying on all the different cases (the staff at Sydney Apple Store rock!!) and in the end, I decided on this Incase Slider Case. Was gonna buy black, but I spotted this NEW COLOUR at the last minute and bought it instead.



I know it looks like a sad, sucky grey in the photo, but it's actually a very cool metallic finish (gun metal colour).




The Incase Slider Case complete with the fake cardboard iPod. =P



Can't wait to meet your new iPod huh?
Just 5 days more!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

A teaser for David...and a little for myself

Now that I'm going back to Singapore soon, what does David have to look forward to apart from seeing me and taking a break from work? Hmm... How about...
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The funnest iPod ever!!



So, I've been thinking a lot about which case to get for David's Xmas iPod Touch. At first I wanted to get him one of those leather folio cases, but then I found that they're bulky and seem to interfere with the sensitivity of the touchscreen. After much deliberation, I decided to go for the fitted cases + screen protector instead, so here're a few contenders:



Incase silicon protective cover in black.
This one's a little bulkier (less bulky than the leather folios though), but more protective than the rest. The protectiveness is definitely suitable for David, but silicon means that it'll be a dust magnet.



Incase slider case in black.
This one's easy to put on, has a coating at the back for better grip, but it's made of hard plastic, so it's less protective and might break more easily, plus reviews of the slider case for 1st Gen iPod Touch said that it leaves SCRATCHES.



Incase hardcase in black.
This one's similar to the slider case, except it's translucent and is a snap-on case rather than a slide-on. So probably less chances of scratching the iPod Touch in the process of putting it on. Once again, it's plastic - less protective and more prone to breakage.




Well, ya, this Belkin silicon case in purple is just a THOUGHT. Although David likes purple, this is probably a little too girly for him. Haha. It's cute though!


So many to choose from... What a headache... Maybe I should just get him PINK...





So while I was looking at iPod Touch, I started feeling very tempted to get something for myself to replace my pathetic Aigo MP3 player that has a FM tuner but only plays 99 songs!


Don't you just love ALL the new iPod Nano colours? I'm totally undecided now. I love the look of the iPod Nano, but I like to listen to the radio from time to time, but iPods just don't have FM tuners!! Grr... I wonder if I should just get an 8GB Sony NWZ-S738F/B from Sydney International Airport DFS for a little more than an iPod Nano...

It retails in Singapore at S$319, but I can get it at DFS for just A$199, which is very cheap considering the exchange rate now. Shall pop down to Sony Centre to have a look after my paper tomorrow.





What I like about it:

  • Built-in Noise Cancelling System
  • Better batt life - 40 hours(music)/10 hours(video)
  • Digital FM Tuner
  • Music transfer by Drag & Drop
  • Easy to charge via USB connection
  • Comes with Sony in-ear earphones
  • Similar size to Nano
  • Fast charging (3hrs full charge)


Here's the price/size/weight comparison:

8GB iPod Touch: A$299 / 110 x 61.8 x 8.5mm / 115g
8GB Sony NWZ-A728F/B: A$199 / 89.5 X 42.9 X 7.5mm / 46g
8GB iPod Nano: A$180 / 90.7 x 38.7 x 6.2mm / 36.8g


Sigh... What should I do?!?! I love the iPod Nano design more, but I love the Sony features more. BTW, I'm not considering the 8GB iPod Touch. Just threw it in purely for comparison's sake.


Tell me what you think thru the poll in the side panel. (-^_^-)v

Final Countdown

So I'm actually supposed to be studying now for my exam paper tomorrow, but I totally cannot concentrate. Why, you ask? Cos our final 1-week countdown begins today! I feel like running out and knocking on all my neighbours' doors and telling them, "HEY!!! I'm going back to Singapore in 1 week!!! I can finally talk, laugh and turn on my music/video/TV after 10pm and nobody will hear me or complain to the landlord (unlike you suckers!)!!!". But obviously I won't do that, cos the suckers will probably complain to my landlord. And yup, they sleep by 10pm. (-_-;)

On second thoughts, maybe they'll just jump for joy too. No fun living in a terrace with paper-thin walls between us and the sleep-by-10pm neighbours. (>_<)

Monday, November 10, 2008

Almost time to go...

How time flies. Before I knew it, it's just another 9 days before I leave Sydney for good and return to Singapore. While I'm looking forward to seeing David, my family and friends again, part of me also feel afraid. After being away for so long, it's gonna be another period of adjustment for me. Adjusting to the time difference, to living with my parents again, to seeing David regularly again, to working again, etc. Most of these may seem like good things, but I just can't help feeling a sense of uncertainty. I guess there's just comfort in the status quo.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

DBS jobs cut... Scary

I'm sure most of you, if not all, should have heard about the news now. DBS is going to cut 900 jobs in SG and HK. It was so scary when the news was announced. We could see that our CEO, Richard Stanley, was shaken and sad when he announced the news to us at The Rock. It was the first time that our quarterly briefing was done at The Rock, because they wanted to address all the staff in one place. Even our chairman was not his usual cheerful self, but was solemn and serious.

Am I worried? I'll be lying if I say I'm not. But at the same time, I'm just trying to hold on to the thought that they probably won't fire the new MAs. Then again, who's to know? Everything's so uncertain now in this current situation. I'm just praying hard. But at the same time, I'm still confident in DBS. Confident that it will ride through and survive this storm.

Updates on my kidney stone

Unfortunately, it's still not out. I'm still on painkillers. And there's nothing I can do except to suppress the pain with painkillers and drink lots of fluid to pass it out (urine). But it's still not out yet! I still have painkillers only for another 2 or 3 days. If it doesn't get out, and the pain becomes unbearable again, then I'll have to go back to the hospital again. Bleah... Or maybe I can go to a clinic and get the same medication... My appointment with the urologist is on the 19th. Only then will I be able to get a clearer picture.

Well... 10 more days before Gladys comes back! And the appointment date is the day that Gladys comes back! So that will actually be a day that I'll be looking forward to.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

My poor dear... =(((

David's been having severe abdominal pain for the past 3 days.

On the first day, he went to a 24-hr clinic at Clementi after midnight and the doctor told him that he probably ate something bad and there's a lotta gas in his stomach. Send him home with some medicine for his stomach. He went to sleep thinking that he'll be able to go to work the next day.

The next day, after he woke up and had his breakfast, the pain came back again and he went to Bt Gombak to see another doctor. Once again, the doctor told him that it was just gas and gave him more medicine. Fortunately, the doctor didn't rule out that there's a possibility of acute appendicitis, so he gave David a referral letter to A&E in case the pain worsens. He went home, took the medicine, spend most of the day lying in bed wif a hot pack and started feeling better. Once again, he went to bed, thinking that he'll be able to work the next morning.

This morning, when David woke up, the pain was back again, so he finally decided to go to SGH A&E. When the doctor saw him, at first he suspected that David was having constipation, so he got the nurse to give him a fleet enema, but it didn't help much. After tt, the doctor tried to let him have a suppository and see if he can pass any motion, but it still didn't help the pain. After spending around 3 hours in A&E, the doctor ordered blood investigations and X-rays, and finally diagnosed him with kidney stones. Gave him a jab of strong painkiller (Pethidine?) and a urology referral. Now he's resting at home.

Sigh... He's suffering so much and I'm so far away... I just feel like such a failure as his girlfriend. =((( Hope he gets well soon.

Thanks, all who showed concern.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

PAIN PAIN

I can't believe how much pain can wind bring to my tummy. Last night, my tummy got so painful that I couldn't bear it. I wanted to wait till morning before seeing the doc, but I just couldn't. So off I went with my brother to find a 24 hr clinic. Went to the clinic at Bt Gombak that was supposed to be 24 hrs and is in the list of panel clinics in my company, but now it changed to closing at 11pm. Went to Bt Batok Central and found none. Went to another one that's also supposed to be 24 hrs, but now changed to close at 12am.

So finally decided to go NUH straight. The stupid queue was FOUR freaking hours. And the nurse said that she couldn't give me any painkillers until the doc has seen me. FOUR hours!!! I would have died of pain by then.

Off I went to another 24 hrs clinic in Clementi that Gladys found online. Doctor told me it's wind and I might have eaten something bad. So gave me Buscopan and gave me one day MC. That visit cost me $99.50 and only $40 is claimable because it's not panel clinic of my company! Went home, took the medication and slept, thinking that I still can go to work today.

This morning I woke up with a bit of pain, and it got worse. I took the medication at 7+, but the pain kept coming. Finally, at 10, I couldn't take it and went to the panel clinic at Bt Gombak with my mom. The doctor did a more thorough check and also felt that it was wind, but also with gastric pain. He checked for appendicitis and felt that it wasn't likely to be appendicitis due to no pain on right side and no rebound pain. So he gave me more medication that will reduce the stomach acid and line the inside of the stomach. He also gave me a letter for me to bring to the hospital in case my pain persists. And he also gave me MC for tomorrow as well.

Even after taking the medication, the pain still persisted and came in waves. At some points, it was really unbearable and I was really screaming. Usually I have quite a high tolerance for pain, but this time it's really bad. Finally after lunch at about 2+, I could feel my stomach being less bloated and churning, and the pain started to die down.

Unbelievably painful.

Monday, November 03, 2008

FINALLY!!

I've submitted the last of my assignments! Now all I have left are 2 exams papers before I go back to Singapore! Really really happy now cos I can finally spend 5 days just hanging ard, shopping etc without feeling the slightest bit of guilt. Hehe. I think I'm starting to feel a little sad about leaving Sydney though. Having a bit of mixed feelings. Looking forward to going back, but also can't bear to leave...

Finally on dual-core and Vista

I think I must be one of the last few people that I know who only migrated to a dual-core system recently. I have been surviving on a AMD Athlon 2800+ system with 1.5Gb of RAM, Radeon 9550 all the way until just last week!

But now I'm finally on a dual-core system. Had such a great buy last Saturday (25th Oct 2008). Went to Sim Lim with Gladys' dad because there was something wrong with his motherboard, so he decided to buy a new system. And I decided to buy a new system to upgrade too. Originally I had a budget of about S$500 to upgrade my system. Then I noticed a pricing error and made the best computer buy I've ever made. An ASUS M2N68-VM Motherboard with an AMD 64X2 5200+ CPU, 4Gb of Kingston DDR2 PC800 RAM, and a LG 22X SATA DVD writer for just $220!!! Super cheap! The ASUS motherboard comes with integrated NVIDIA graphics that is not bad and sufficient for my use.

Of course, Gladys' dad bought the same stuff, with another hard disk, power supply, and Windows Vista Home Premium. Since I already have a Vista license, and I replaced my power supply just last year or so, I didn't have to get those stuff.

Another 16 days and Gladys will be back! And also the start of my block leave! And the start of a few days holiday for the two of us!

Saturday, November 01, 2008

It's 1st November!

Boy, does my countdown to returning to Singapore start to feel real now! It's finally November and I can count the days just by looking at the calendar! =))


18 days more!